Persons celebrating an Anniversary in November 2009

Martin Ramsauer goes in front this month, he could look back on full four decades on November 3rd – by which he is the youngest in our November quintet. Five years ago (November 2004) we mentioned him for the first time in our column, meanwhile he has not only moved to Schiller’s native town Marbach am Neckar but he has also distinguished himself with a second book publication which you may look up in the Publications of our Members.

We meet another "old" friend: Vlastimil Fiala had gone half a century on November 8th. In the course of his membership he has particularly distinguished himself by the publication of the Ken Whyld trilogy – Chess Reader / Chess Christmas / Chess Student. He also joined in our Dresden 2008 meeting, about this see our gallery Book Market. For sighting his continually increasing book list a visit at Moravian Chess is to be recommended.

We continuously increase the years – the event of Ward Stoffelen's birth was three-quarters of a century ago, his special day fell on November 16th. This year too "the tireless Belgian" was in demand as a main arbiter, so for instance at the Corus Studies Day and at the 5th ISC (= International Solving Contest) 2009. I would like to supplement the references to the partly more detailed appreciations of the last years (especially 2005 and 2006) by an article on Ward written by the English problem expert Brian Stephenson: www.bstephen.me.uk/...

Still more advanced (in years) is the universally well-known Russian chess historian Isaak Linder who now (on November 20th) reached the "89" – and he can still refer to new activities as an author: So he has enriched the congress book St. Petersburg 1909 (Olms new edition, 2009) by an introduction, and together with his son Vladimir he has contributed a chapter to our just published Lasker monograph – naturally on the subject "Lasker in Russia"!

Once more our November selection is concluded by our German member Uwe Durst who also completed his 75th year on Novmber 25th.